1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an intra-oral mandibular advancement appliance to be inserted in the mouth of a patient so that the position of the patient's lower jaw can be continuously adjusted relative to the upper jaw so as to improve the patient's breathing during sleep and thereby reduce the effects of snoring and/or sleep apnea. The aforementioned adjustment can be easily and selectively accomplished by the patient over time without the use of special tools, springs, having to remove and install fasteners, or requiring the assistance of healthcare personnel.
2. Background Art
Snoring and sleep apnea are typically caused by obstructions (i.e., occlusions) to a patient's airway to his throat through which the patient breathes during sleep. By way of example, as a consequence of age, being overweight, medical and physical conditions, and the like, the palate and soft tissue around the patient's throat are known to relax and collapse and thereby cut off or restrict the flow of air to the patient's throat while he is asleep. Sometimes, the patient's tongue can fall backwards towards his throat so as to also adversely affect breathing. The prolonged cut off of an air supply can cause the patient to choke, lose valuable sleep and, in some extreme cases, suffer heart impairment.
One means that has proven successful in treating snoring and sleep apnea is a CPAP machine. In this case, air under pressure is continuously blown down the patient's throat to maintain an open airway. However, using a CPAP machine also requires the use of a mask that is strapped over the patient's nose and/or mouth. Wearing such a mask is uncomfortable to many patients. Patients who are CPAP intolerant will be unable to receive the benefits available therefrom.
To avoid the use of the mask common to CPAP machines and, as an alternative means for treating snoring and sleep apnea, oral appliances have been proposed to be inserted in the patient's mouth and used while sleeping. Such devices enable the patient's upper and lower jaws to be positioned relative to one another as needed to maintain an open breathing passage. Following a trial period, the settings in some conventional oral appliances are fixed and locked. However, no future adjustments can be made to account for patient discomfort and ineffectiveness of the device. Therefore, these appliances can prove to be ineffectual over time as a consequence of their being unable to respond to the changing conditions of the patient.
In certain other conventional oral appliances, adjustments are possible after the original settings have been made. The adjustments in this case often require the use of special tools, springs, the often complicated removal and installation of fasteners, and the assistance of healthcare workers. Hence, the patient may be unable to quickly or easily make the needed adjustments by himself. What is more, such adjustments are frequently course in nature (e.g., low, medium and high) which inhibits making fine adjustments to the position of the patient's upper or lower jaw as might be required to satisfy the specific needs of the patient on a continuous basis.